Accomplishments: A lot came together this week. I was able to get a carpet from Sergenian’s, cut it to size and treat the ends with fray-check. A more permanent edge treatment may be helpful, but it’s holding reasonably well for now. I cut the spring steel boning into six equal length pieces, and was able to do a proof of concept by taping them to the rug and rolling the rug up – and it unrolls as intended! I also completed soldering the PoV kit, and tested it to find the optimum speed to see the design. I’m satisfied that it’s slow enough to be plausible for use on the carpet.
Problems or Issues: Despite my research, I’m still not 100% sure how the 555 chip will connect to the motor. I wouldn’t mind help if someone has experience with 555 chips!
Week Plan: Tuesday: Finalize the master circuit design plan, taking into consideration the spring steel boning placement and pattern in the carpet. This will involve more research into using the motor and the 555 chips. I will also need to decide whether I will sew the spring steel boning directly, or get a casing to sew (advantage and disadvantages either way). Since I’ll be working the polls in the morning, I’ll do much of this work on Tuesday afternoon. Thursday: Order any parts which are still needed for master circuit design. Then begin sewing in components I already have.
Percent complete: 40%? It’s hard to tell, since this project involves so many independent elements.
Changes: Spring steel boning replaced the C02 apparatus, and the current plan is to use 555 chips to replace most, if not all, of the microcontroller features. I also see opportunities to reduce the size of the battery packs, but it may be beyond the scope of this class.
Major Hurdles: It’s hard to begin sewing components with confidence until the final circuit design is known, but some elements of the design are taking much longer than others, and I don’t want a delayed portion to hold up the overall assembly. It would, after all, be better to have several completed components and some set aside for future than a very comprehensive plan and a pile of parts. I am also unfamiliar with the electronic components I am using, and while I am excited to learn, it is slow work to figure them all out through Google searches. It’d be helpful to have more people to connect to for questions.